Name	High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)
Type	Digital audio/video connector
Logo
Designer	HDMI Founders (seven companies)
Design date	December 2002
Manufacturer	HDMI Adopters (over 850 companies)
Production date	2003–present
External	Yes
Hotplug	Yes
Width	Type A (13.9 mm), Type C (10.42 mm)
Height	Type A (4.45 mm), Type C (2.42 mm)
Audio signal	LPCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio, MPCM, DSD, DST
Video signal	480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 1440p, 1600p, 2160p, etc.
Data signal	Yes
Data bandwidth	10.2 Gbit/s (340 MHz)
Data style	TMDS
Num pins	19
Pinout image
Pinout caption	Type A receptacle HDMI
Pin1 name	TMDS Data2+
Pin2 name	TMDS Data2 Shield
Pin3 name	TMDS Data2–
Pin4 name	TMDS Data1+
Pin5 name	TMDS Data1 Shield
Pin6 name	TMDS Data1–
Pin7 name	TMDS Data0+
Pin8 name	TMDS Data0 Shield
Pin9 name	TMDS Data0–
Pin10 name	TMDS Clock+
Pin11 name	TMDS Clock Shield
Pin12 name	TMDS Clock–
Pin13 name	CEC
Pin14 name	Reserved (HDMI 1.0-1.3c), HEC Data- (Optional, HDMI 1.4+ with Ethernet)
Pin15 name	SCL (I²C Serial Clock for DDC)
Pin16 name	SDA (I²C Serial Data Line for DDC)
Pin17 name	DDC/CEC/HEC Ground
Pin18 name	+5 V Power (max 50 mA)
Pin19 name	Hot Plug Detect (All versions) and HEC Data+ (Optional, HDMI 1.4+ with Ethernet)
Pinout notes	}}

High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency (RF) coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA. HDMI connects digital audio/video sources (such as set-top boxes, DVD players, HD DVD players, Blu-ray Disc players, AVCHD camcorders, personal computers (PCs), video game consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and AV receivers) to compatible digital audio devices, computer monitors, video projectors, tablet computers, and digital televisions.

HDMI implements the EIA/CEA-861 standards, which define video formats and waveforms, transport of compressed, uncompressed, and LPCM audio, auxiliary data, and implementations of the VESA EDID. HDMI supports, on a single cable, any uncompressed TV or PC video format, including standard, enhanced, high definition and 3D video signals; up to 8 channels of compressed or uncompressed digital audio; a Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) connection; and an Ethernet data connection.

The CEC allows HDMI devices to control each other when necessary and allows the user to operate multiple devices with one remote control handset. Because HDMI is electrically compatible with the CEA-861 signals used by Digital Visual Interface (DVI), no signal conversion is necessary, nor is there a loss of video quality when a DVI-to-HDMI adapter is used. As an uncompressed CEA-861 connection, HDMI is independent of the various digital television standards used by individual devices, such as ATSC and DVB, as these are encapsulations of compressed MPEG video streams (which can be decoded and output as an uncompressed video stream on HDMI).

Production of consumer HDMI products started in late 2003. Over 850 consumer electronics and PC companies have adopted the HDMI specification (HDMI Adopters). In Europe, either DVI-HDCP or HDMI is included in the HD ready in-store labeling specification for TV sets for HDTV, formulated by EICTA with SES Astra in 2005. HDMI began to appear on consumer HDTV camcorders and digital still cameras in 2006. Shipments of HDMI were expected to exceed that of DVI in 2008, driven primarily by the consumer electronics market.

History

The HDMI Founders are Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic/National/Quasar), Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson (RCA) and Toshiba. Digital Content Protection, LLC provides HDCP (which was developed by Intel) for HDMI. HDMI has the support of motion picture producers Fox, Universal, Warner Bros. and Disney, along with system operators DirecTV, EchoStar (Dish Network) and CableLabs.

The HDMI Founders began development on HDMI 1.0 on April 16, 2002, with the goal of creating an AV connector that was backward-compatible with DVI. At the time, DVI-HDCP (DVI with HDCP) and DVI-HDTV (DVI-HDCP using the CEA-861-B video standard) were being used on HDTVs. HDMI 1.0 was designed to improve on DVI-HDTV by using a smaller connector and adding support for audio, and enhanced support for YCbCr and consumer electronics control functions.

The first Authorized Testing Center (ATC), which tests HDMI products, was opened by Silicon Image on June 23, 2003, in California, United States. The first ATC in Japan was opened by Panasonic on May 1, 2004, in Osaka. The first ATC in Europe was opened by Philips on May 25, 2005, in Caen, France. The first ATC in China was opened by Silicon Image on November 21, 2005, in Shenzhen. The first ATC in India was opened by Philips on June 12, 2008, in Bangalore. The HDMI website contains a list of all the ATCs.

According to In-Stat, the number of HDMI devices sold was 5 million in 2004, 17.4 million in 2005, 63 million in 2006, and 143 million in 2007. HDMI has become the de facto standard for HDTVs, and according to In-Stat, around 90% of digital televisions in 2007 included HDMI. In-Stat has estimated that 229 million HDMI devices were sold in 2008. On January 7, 2009, HDMI Licensing, LLC announced that HDMI had reached an installed base of over 600 million HDMI devices. In-Stat has estimated that 394 million HDMI devices will sell in 2009 and that all digital televisions by the end of 2009 would have at least one HDMI input.

In 2008, PC Magazine awarded a Technical Excellence Award in the Home Theater category for an "innovation that has changed the world" to the CEC portion of the HDMI specification. Ten companies were given a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award for their development of HDMI by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on January 7, 2009.

Specifications

The HDMI specification defines the protocols, signals, electrical interfaces and mechanical requirements of the standard. The maximum pixel clock rate for HDMI 1.0 was 165 MHz, which was sufficient for supporting 1080p and WUXGA (1920×1200) at 60 Hz. HDMI 1.3 increased that to 340 MHz, which allows for higher resolution (such as WQXGA, 2560×1600) across a single digital link. An HDMI connection can either be single-link (type A/C) or dual-link (type B) and can have a video pixel rate of 25 MHz to 340 MHz (for a single-link connection) or 25 MHz to 680 MHz (for a dual-link connection). Video formats with rates below 25 MHz (e.g., 13.5 MHz for 480i/NTSC) are transmitted using a pixel-repetition scheme.

Audio/video

HDMI uses the Consumer Electronics Association/Electronic Industries Alliance 861 standards. HDMI 1.0 to HDMI 1.2a uses the EIA/CEA-861-B video standard, and HDMI 1.3+ uses the CEA-861-D video standard. The CEA-861-D document defines "video formats and waveforms; colorimetry and quantization; transport of compressed and uncompressed, as well as Linear Pulse Code Modulation (LPCM), audio; carriage of auxiliary data; and implementations of the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) Enhanced Extended Display Identification Data Standard (E-EDID)."

To ensure baseline interoperability between different HDMI-sources and displays (as well as backward compatibility with the electrically compatible DVI standard), all HDMI compliant devices are required to support sRGB video 4:4:4, at 8 bits per component. Support for YCbCr color-space and higher color-depths ("deep color") are optional. HDMI permits xvYCC 4:4:4 (8–16 bits per component), YCbCr 4:4:4 (8–16 bits per component), or YCbCr 4:2:2 (8–12 bits per component). The color spaces that can be used by HDMI are ITU-R BT.601, ITU-R BT.709-5 and IEC 61966-2-4.

For digital audio, if an HDMI device supports audio, it is required to support the baseline format: stereo (uncompressed) PCM. Other formats are optional, with HDMI allowing up to 8 channels of uncompressed audio at sample sizes of 16-bit, 20-bit and 24-bit, with sample rates of 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz. HDMI also supports any IEC 61937-compliant compressed audio stream, such as Dolby Digital and DTS, and up to 8 channels of one-bit DSD audio (used on Super Audio CDs) at rates up to four times that of Super Audio CD. With version 1.3, HDMI supports lossless compressed audio streams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. As with the YCbCr video, device support for audio is optional.

The HDMI standard was not designed to include passing closed caption data (for example, subtitles) to the television for decoding. As such, any closed caption stream has to be decoded and included as an image in the video stream(s) prior to transmission over an HDMI cable to be viewed on the DTV. This limits the caption style (even for digital captions) to only that decoded at the source prior to HDMI transmission. This also prevents closed captions when transmission over HDMI is required for upconversion. For example, a DVD player sending an upscaled 720p/1080i format via HDMI to an HDTV has no method to pass Closed Captioning data so that the HDTV can decode as there is no line 21 VBI in that format.

Connectors

There are five HDMI connector types. Type A/B are defined in the HDMI 1.0 specification, type C is defined in the HDMI 1.3 specification, and type D/E are defined in the HDMI 1.4 specification.

;Type A: Nineteen pins, with bandwidth to support all SDTV, EDTV and HDTV modes. The plug (male) connector outside dimensions are 13.9 mm × 4.45 mm and the receptacle (female) connector inside dimensions are 14 mm × 4.55 mm. Type A is electrically compatible with single-link DVI-D.

;Type B: This connector (21.2 mm × 4.45 mm) has 29 pins and can carry double the video bandwidth of type A, for use with very high-resolution future displays such as WQUXGA (3,840×2,400). Type B is electrically compatible with dual-link DVI-D, but has not yet been used in any products.

;Type C: A Mini connector defined in the HDMI 1.3 specification, it is intended for portable devices. It is smaller than the type A plug connector (10.42 mm × 2.42 mm) but has the same 19-pin configuration. The differences are that all positive signals of the differential pairs are swapped with their corresponding shield, the DDC/CEC Ground is assigned to pin 13 instead of pin 17, the CEC is assigned to pin 14 instead of pin 13, and the reserved pin is 17 instead of pin 14. The type C Mini connector can be connected to a type A connector using a type A-to-type C cable.

;Type D: A Micro connector defined in the HDMI 1.4 specification keeps the standard 19 pins of types A and C but shrinks the connector size to something resembling a micro-USB connector. The type D connector is 2.8 mm × 6.4 mm, whereas the type C connector is 2.42 mm × 10.42 mm; for comparison, a micro-USB connector is 2.94 mm × 7.8 mm and USB Type A is 11.5 mm × 4.5 mm.

;Type E: Automotive Connection System defined in HDMI 1.4 specification.

Cables

Although no maximum length for an HDMI cable is specified, signal attenuation (dependent on the cable's construction quality and conducting materials) limits usable lengths in practice. HDMI 1.3 defines two cable categories: Category 1-certified cables, which have been tested at 74.5 MHz (which would include resolutions such as 720p60 and 1080i60), and Category 2-certified cables, which have been tested at 340 MHz (which would include resolutions such as 1080p60 and 2160p30). Category 1 HDMI cables are to be marketed as "Standard" and Category 2 HDMI cables as "High Speed". This labeling guideline for HDMI cables went into effect on October 17, 2008. Category 1 and 2 cables can either meet the required parameter specifications for interpair skew, far-end crosstalk, attenuation and differential impedance, or they can meet the required nonequalized/equalized eye diagram requirements. A cable of about 5 meters (16 ft.) can be manufactured to Category 1 specifications easily and inexpensively by using 28 AWG (0.081 mm²) conductors. With better quality construction and materials, including 24 AWG (0.205 mm²) conductors, a HDMI cable can reach lengths of up to 15 meters (49 ft.). Many HDMI cables under 5 meters of length that were made before the HDMI 1.3 specification can work as Category 2 cables, but only Category 2-tested cables are guaranteed to work.

As of the HDMI 1.4 specification, there are the following cable types defined for HDMI in general:

Standard HDMI Cable - up to 1080i and 720p

Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet

Automotive HDMI Cable

High Speed HDMI Cable - 1080p, 4K, 3D and Deep Color

High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet

Cable manufacturers officially are prohibited from marketing the cables by HDMI standard version (for instance "HDMI 1.4 cable") - the cables are distinguished in bitrate support only.

Extenders

An HDMI extender is a single device (or pair of devices) powered with an external power source or with the 5V DC from the HDMI source. Long cables can cause instability of HDCP and blinking on the screen, due to the weakened DDC signal that HDCP requires. HDCP DDC signals must be multiplexed with TMDS video signals to be compliant with HDCP requirements for HDMI extenders based on a single Category 5/Category 6 cable. Several companies offer amplifiers, equalizers and repeaters that can string several standard HDMI cables together. Active HDMI cables use electronics within the cable to boost the signal and allow for HDMI cables of up to 30 meters (98 ft.). HDMI extenders that are based on dual Category 5/Category 6 cable can extend HDMI to 250 meters (820 ft.), while HDMI extenders based on optical fiber can extend HDMI to 300 meters (980 ft.).

Communication channel protocols

HDMI has three physically separate communication channels, which are the DDC, TMDS and the optional CEC.

DDC

The Display Data Channel (DDC) is a communication channel based on the I²C bus specification. HDMI specifically requires support for the Enhanced Display Data Channel (E-DDC), which is used by the HDMI source device to read the E-EDID data from the HDMI sink device to learn what audio/video formats it supports. HDMI requires that the E-DDC support I²C standard mode speed (100 kbit/s) and allows optional support for fast mode speed (400 kbit/s).

TMDS

Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) on HDMI carries video, audio and auxiliary data via one of three modes, called the Video Data Period, the Data Island Period and the Control Period. During the Video Data Period, the pixels of an active video line are transmitted. During the Data Island period (which occurs during the horizontal and vertical blanking intervals), audio and auxiliary data are transmitted within a series of packets. The Control Period occurs between Video and Data Island periods.

Both HDMI and DVI use TMDS to send 10-bit characters that are encoded using 8b/10b encoding for the Video Data Period and 2b/10b encoding for the Control Period. HDMI adds the ability to send audio and auxiliary data using 4b/10b encoding for the Data Island Period. Each Data Island Period is 32 pixels in size and contains a 32-bit Packet Header, which includes 8 bits of BCH ECC parity data for error correction and describes the contents of the packet. Each Packet contains four subpackets, and each subpacket is 64 bits in size, including 8 bits of BCH ECC parity data, allowing for each Packet to carry up to 224 bits of audio data. Each Data Island Period can contain up to 18 Packets. Seven of the 15 Packet types described in the HDMI 1.3a specifications deal with audio data, while the other 8 types deal with auxiliary data. Among these are the General Control Packet and the Gamut Metadata Packet. The General Control Packet carries information on AVMUTE (which mutes the audio during changes that may cause audio noise) and Color Depth (which sends the bit depth of the current video stream and is required for Deep Color). The Gamut Metadata Packet carries information on the color space being used for the current video stream and is required for xvYCC.

====CEC==== Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) is a feature designed to allow the user to command and control two or more CEC-enabled boxes, that are connected through HDMI, by using only one of their remote controls. (e.g. controlling a television set, set-top box and DVD player using only the remote control of the TV). CEC also allows for individual CEC-enabled devices to command and control each other without user intervention.

It is a one-wire bidirectional serial bus that uses the industry-standard AV.link protocol to perform remote control functions. CEC wiring is mandatory, although implementation of CEC in a product is optional. It was defined in HDMI Specification 1.0 and updated in HDMI 1.2, HDMI 1.2a and HDMI 1.3a (which added timer and audio commands to the bus).

Trade names for CEC are Anynet+ (Samsung); Aquos Link (Sharp); BRAVIA Sync (Sony); HDMI-CEC (Hitachi); E-link (AOC); Kuro Link (Pioneer); CE-Link and Regza Link (Toshiba); RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) (Onkyo); SimpLink (LG); HDAVI Control, EZ-Sync, VIERA Link (Panasonic); EasyLink (Philips); and NetCommand for HDMI (Mitsubishi).

Compatibility with DVI

thumb|alt=An adapter with an HDMI receptacle connector to DVI plug connector with a close up of the HDMI connector.|A DVI to HDMI adapterHDMI is backward-compatible with single-link Digital Visual Interface digital video (DVI-D or DVI-I, but not DVI-A). No signal conversion is required when an adapter or asymmetric cable is used, and consequently no loss in video quality occurs.

From a user's perspective, an HDMI display can be driven by a single-link DVI-D source, since HDMI and DVI-D define an overlapping minimum set of supported resolutions and framebuffer formats to ensure a basic level of interoperability. Since DVI-D displays are not required to support High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, in the reverse scenario, a DVI-D monitor is not guaranteed to display a signal from an HDMI source. A typical HDMI-source (such as a Blu-ray player) may demand HDCP-compliance of the display, and hence refuse to output HDCP-protected content to a non-compliant display. All HDMI devices must support sRGB encoding. Absent this HDCP issue, an HDMI-source and DVI-D display would enjoy the same level of basic interoperability. Further complicating the issue is the existence of a handful of display equipment (high end home theater projectors) which were designed with HDMI inputs, but which are not HDCP-compliant.

Features specific to HDMI, such as remote-control and audio transport, are not available in devices that use legacy DVI-D signalling. However, many devices output HDMI over a DVI connector (e.g., ATI 3000-series and NVIDIA GTX 200-series video cards), and some multimedia displays may accept HDMI (including audio) over a DVI input. In general, exact capabilities vary from product to product.

Audio support

Since the DVI specification does not support audio-transport, an interoperability problem arises when an HDMI-source drives a legacy DVI-display (such as a PC monitor), or conversely, when a DVI-source drives an HDMI-display. While HDMI and DVI compliance rules ensure that a DVI video-connection can be successfully negotiated and established (via a mutually supported display mode), the audio signal must still be transported through means outside of the DVI connection. Typically, an HDMI equipped source will provide additional outputs for audio-only, such as line-level analog and SPDIF, which provide a baseline audio program (such as stereo PCM.) Likewise, when displaying video from an HDMI jack, an HDMI equipped display may support alternate audio-sourcing from a separate pair of analog-audio inputs. Provision for any of these compatibility mechanisms is entirely up to the discretion of the manufacturer, as they are not covered by the HDMI specification. As of 2010, nearly all HDMI equipped sources (set-top and media-extender boxes, Blu-ray/DVD players and PCs) provide separate analog audio outputs, and many HDMI-equipped televisions support alternate-audio input when sourcing video from an HDMI-input.

There are consumer adapters available to place between a DVI source and HDMI target which can insert a separate audio signal into an HDMI TDMS data stream.

HDCP

HDMI can use HDCP to encrypt the signal if required by the source device. CSS, CPPM and AACS require the use of HDCP on HDMI when playing back encrypted DVD Video, DVD Audio, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The HDCP Repeater bit controls the authentication and switching/distribution of an HDMI signal. According to HDCP Specification 1.2 (beginning with HDMI CTS 1.3a), any system that implements HDCP must do so in a fully compliant manner. HDCP testing that was previously only a requirement for optional tests such as the "Simplay HD" testing program is now part of the requirements for HDMI compliance. HDCP allows for up to 127 devices to be connected together, with up to 7 levels, using a combination of sources, sinks and repeaters. A simple example of this is several HDMI devices connected to an HDMI AV receiver that is connected to an HDMI display.

Devices called HDCP strippers can remove the HDCP information from the video signal and allow the video to be playable on non-HDCP-compliant displays.

Versions

HDMI devices are manufactured to adhere to various versions of the specification, in which each version is given a number, such as 1.0, 1.2, or 1.3a. Each subsequent version of the specification uses the same kind of cable but increases the bandwidth and/or capabilities of what can be transmitted over the cable. A product listed as having an HDMI version does not necessarily mean that it will have all of the features that are listed for that version, since some HDMI features are optional, such as Deep Color and xvYCC (which is branded by Sony as "x.v.Color"). Note that with the release of the version 1.4 cable, the HDMI Licensing LLC group (which oversees the HDMI standard) will require that any reference to version numbers be removed from all advertising from the cable only. Non-cable HDMI products starting on January 1, 2012 will no longer be allowed to reference the HDMI number and will be required to state which features of the HDMI specification the product supports.

Version 1.0 to 1.2

HDMI 1.0 was released December 9, 2002 and is a single-cable digital audio/video connector interface with a maximum TMDS bandwidth of 4.9 Gbit/s. It supports up to 3.96 Gbit/s of video bandwidth (1080p/60 Hz or UXGA) and 8 channel LPCM/192 kHz/24-bit audio. HDMI 1.1 was released on May 20, 2004 and added support for DVD-Audio. HDMI 1.2 was released August 8, 2005 and added support for One Bit Audio, used on Super Audio CDs, at up to 8 channels. It also added the availability of HDMI type A connectors for PC sources, the ability for PC sources to only support the sRGB color space while retaining the option to support the YCbCr color space, and required HDMI 1.2 and later displays to support low-voltage sources. HDMI 1.2a was released on December 14, 2005 and fully specifies Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) features, command sets and CEC compliance tests.

Version 1.3

HDMI 1.3 was released June 22, 2006 and increased the single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbit/s). It optionally supports Deep Color, with 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit xvYCC, sRGB, or YCbCr, compared to 24-bit sRGB or YCbCr in previous HDMI versions. It also optionally supports output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams for external decoding by AV receivers. It incorporates automatic audio syncing (audio video sync) capability. It defined cable Categories 1 and 2, with Category 1 cable being tested up to 74.25 MHz and Category 2 being tested up to 340 MHz. It also added the new type C Mini connector for portable devices.

HDMI 1.3a was released on November 10, 2006 and had Cable and Sink modifications for type C, source termination recommendations, and removed undershoot and maximum rise/fall time limits. It also changed CEC capacitance limits, clarified sRGB video quantization range, and CEC commands for timer control were brought back in an altered form, with audio control commands added. It also added support for optionally streaming SACD in its bitstream DST format rather than uncompressed raw DSD like from HDMI 1.2 onwards.

HDMI 1.3b, 1.3b1 and 1.3c were released on March 26, 2007, November 9, 2007, and August 25, 2008 respectively. They do not introduce differences on HDMI features, functions, or performance, but only describe testing for products based on the HDMI 1.3a specification regarding HDMI compliance (1.3b ), the HDMI type C Mini connector (1.3b1 ) and active HDMI cables (1.3c ).

Version 1.4

HDMI 1.4 was released on May 28, 2009, and the first HDMI 1.4 products were available in the second half of 2009. HDMI 1.4 increases the maximum resolution to 4K × 2K, i.e. 3840 × 2160p at 24 Hz/25 Hz/30 Hz or 4096 × 2160p at 24 Hz (which is a resolution used with digital theaters); an HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC), which allows for a 100 Mb/s Ethernet connection between the two HDMI connected devices; and introduces an Audio Return Channel (ARC), 3D Over HDMI, a new Micro HDMI Connector, expanded support for color spaces, with the addition of sYCC601, Adobe RGB and Adobe YCC601; and an Automotive Connection System. HDMI 1.4 supports several stereoscopic 3D formats including field alternative (interlaced), frame packing (a full resolution top-bottom format), line alternative full, side-by-side half, side-by-side full, 2D + depth, and 2D + depth + graphics + graphics depth (WOWvx), with additional top/bottom formats added in version 1.4a . HDMI 1.4 requires that 3D displays support the frame packing 3D format at either 720p50 and 1080p24 or 720p60 and 1080p24. High Speed HDMI 1.3 cables can support all HDMI 1.4 features except for the HDMI Ethernet Channel.

HDMI 1.4a was released on March 4, 2010 and adds two additional mandatory 3D formats for broadcast content, which was deferred with HDMI 1.4 in order to see the direction of the 3D broadcast market. HDMI 1.4a has defined mandatory 3D formats for broadcast, game, and movie content. HDMI 1.4a requires that 3D displays support the frame packing 3D format at either 720p50 and 1080p24 or 720p60 and 1080p24, side-by-side horizontal at either 1080i50 or 1080i60, and top-and-bottom at either 720p50 and 1080p24 or 720p60 and 1080p24.

Version comparison

Note that a given product may choose to implement a subset of the given HDMI version. Certain features such as Deep Color and xvYCC support are optional.

! HDMI version	! 1.0–1.2a	! 1.3	! 1.4
Date initially released	December 29, 2002	June 22, 2006	May 28, 2009
	165	340	340
	1.65	3.40	3.40
	4.95	10.2	10.2
Maximum throughput (Gbit/s) with 8b/10b overhead removed	3.96	8.16	8.16
Maximum audio throughput (Mbit/s)	36.86	36.86	36.86
Maximum color depth (bit/px.)	24	48	48
	1920×1200p60	2560×1600p75	4096×2160p24
		2560×1600p60	4096×2160p24
		1920×1200p75	4096×2160p24
		1920×1200p60	1920×1200p60

! HDMI version	! 1.0	! 1.1	! 1.21.2a	! 1.3	! 1.3a1.3b1.3b11.3c	! 1.4 1.4a
sRGB
YCbCr
8 channel linear pulse code modulation
[[Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD video and audio at full resolution
Consumer Electronic Control (CEC)
DVD-Audio support
Deep Color
xvYCC
Dolby TrueHD bitstream capable
DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream capable
Updated list of CEC commands
3D over HDMI
Ethernet channel
Audio return channel (ARC)
4K × 2K resolution support

: 36-bit support is mandatory for Deep Color-compatible consumer electronic devices, with 48-bit support being optional. : Maximum resolution is based on CVT-RB, which is a VESA standard for non-CRT-based displays. Using CVT-RB 1920×1200 would have a video bandwidth of 3.69 Gbit/s, 2560×1600 would have a video bandwidth of 8.12 Gbit/s, and 4096×2160 would have a video bandwidth of 5.35 Gbit/s. : Using CVT-RB 2560×1600 would have a video bandwidth of 8.12 Gbit/s and 4096×2160 would have a video bandwidth of 6.69 Gbit/s. : Using CVT-RB 1920×1200 would have a video bandwidth of 7.91 Gbit/s and 4096×2160 would have a video bandwidth of 8.03 Gbit/s. : Using CVT-RB 1920×1200 would have a video bandwidth of 7.39 Gbit/s. : Even for a compressed audio codec that a given HDMI version cannot transport, the source device may be able to decode the audio codec and transmit the audio as uncompressed LPCM. : CEC has been in the HDMI specification since version 1.0, but only began to be used in consumer electronics products with HDMI version 1.3a. : Playback of SACD may be possible for older HDMI versions if the source device (such as the Oppo 970) converts to LPCM. : Large number of additions and clarifications for CEC commands. One addition is CEC command, allowing for volume control of an AV receiver. : Viewing 3D content over HDMI 1.3 is possible if the cable can support high bandwidth (the maximum limit of most HDMI 1.3 cables). But it will only produce 1080i images, due to 3D taking two simultaneous pictures instead of one.

Applications

Tablets

Some Tablets, such as the Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry PlayBook and Acer Iconia Tab A500, support HDMI using Micro-HDMI (Type D) ports. Others, such as the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer support the standard using Mini-HDMI (Type C) ports. The iPad and iPad 2 have a special A/V adapter that converts Apple's data line to a standard HDMI (Type A) port. Samsung has a similar proprietary thirty-pin port for their Galaxy Tab 10.1 that can adapt to HDMI as well as USB drives. The Dell Streak 5 smartphone/tablet hybrid is capable of outputting over HDMI. Whilst the Streak uses a PDMI port, a separate cradle is available which adds HDMI compatibility.

Digital cameras and camcorders

As of 2011, most standalone camcorders, as well as many digital cameras, are equipped with a mini-HDMI connector.

Blu-ray Disc/HD DVD players

Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, introduced in 2006, offer new high-fidelity audio features that require HDMI for best results. HDMI 1.3 can transport Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreams in compressed form. This capability allows for an AV receiver with the necessary decoder to decode the compressed audio stream. The Blu-ray specification does not support video encoded with either Deep Color or xvYCC so that HDMI 1.0 can transfer Blu-ray discs at full video quality.

Blu-ray permits secondary audio decoding, whereby the disc content can tell the player to mix multiple audio sources together before final output. Some Blu-ray and HD DVD players can decode all of the audio codecs internally and can output LPCM audio over HDMI. Multichannel LPCM can be transported over an HDMI connection, and as long as the AV receiver supports multichannel LPCM audio over HDMI and supports HDCP, the audio reproduction is equal in resolution to HDMI 1.3 bitstream output. Some low-cost AV receivers, such as the Onkyo TX-SR506, do not support audio processing over HDMI and are labelled as "HDMI pass through" devices.

Personal computers

PCs with a DVI interface are capable of video output to an HDMI-enabled monitor. Some PCs include an HDMI interface and may also be capable of HDMI audio output, depending on specific hardware. For example, Intel's motherboard chipsets since the 945G have been capable of 8-channel LPCM output over HDMI, as well as NVIDIA’s GeForce 8200/8300 motherboard chipsets. Eight-channel LPCM audio output over HDMI with a video card was first seen with the ATI Radeon HD 4850, which was released in June 2008 and is supported by other video cards in the ATI Radeon HD 4000 series. Linux can support 8-channel LPCM audio over HDMI if the video card has the necessary hardware and supports the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA). The ATI Radeon HD 4000 series supports ALSA. Cyberlink announced in June 2008 that they would update their PowerDVD playback software to support 192 kHz/24-bit Blu-ray Disc audio decoding in Q3-Q4 of 2008. Corel's WinDVD 9 Plus currently supports 96 kHz/24-bit Blu-ray Disc audio decoding.

Even with an HDMI output, a computer may not support HDCP, Microsoft's Protected Video Path, or Microsoft's Protected Audio Path. In the case of HDCP, there were several early graphic cards that were labelled as "HDCP-enabled" but did not actually have the necessary hardware for HDCP. This included certain graphic cards based on the ATI X1600 chipset and certain models of the NVIDIA Geforce 7900 series. The first computer monitors with HDCP support started to be released in 2005, and by February 2006, a dozen different models had been released. The Protected Video Path was enabled in graphic cards that supported HDCP, since it was required for output of Blu-ray Disc video. In comparison, the Protected Audio Path was only required if a lossless audio bitstream (such as Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA) was output. Uncompressed LPCM audio, however, does not require a Protected Audio Path, and software programs such as PowerDVD and WinDVD can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA and output it as LPCM. A limitation is that if the computer does not support a Protected Audio Path, the audio must be downsampled to 16-bit 48 kHz but can still output at up to 8 channels. No graphic cards were released in 2008 that supported the Protected Audio Path.

In June 2008, Asus announced Xonar HDAV1.3, which in December 2008 received a software update and became the first HDMI sound card that supported the Protected Audio Path and can both bitstream and decode lossless audio (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA), although bitstreaming is only available if using the ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre software. The Xonar HDAV1.3 has an HDMI 1.3 input/output, and Asus says that it can work with most video cards on the market.

In September 2009, AMD announced the ATI Radeon HD 5000 series video cards which features support for HDMI 1.3 output (Deep Color, xvYCC wide gamut support and high bit rate audio), support for 8-channel LPCM over HDMI, and an integrated HD audio controller with a Protected Audio Path that allows bitstream output over HDMI for AAC, Dolby AC-3, Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio formats. The ATI Radeon HD 5870 released in September 2009 is the first video card that supports bitstream output over HDMI for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

In December 2010, it was announced that several computer vendors and display makers including Intel, AMD, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, and LG would stop using LVDS from 2013 and legacy DVI and VGA connectors from 2015, replacing them with DisplayPort and HDMI.

Old TVs

HDMI can be used with older televisions that only use analog ports (Scart, VGA, RCA, etc.), using a scaler (digital-to-analog converter).

Relationship with DisplayPort

Another audio/video interface is DisplayPort, which had version 1.0 approved in May 2006 and is supported in several computer monitors and video cards. The DisplayPort website states that DisplayPort is expected to complement HDMI. Most of the DisplayPort supporters are computer companies. DisplayPort uses a self-clocking micro-packet-based protocol that allows using variable amount of differential lanes as well as flexible allocation of bandwidth between audio and video, and supports encapsulating multichannel compressed audio formats in the audio stream DisplayPort ports can be made so that they are compatible with single-link DVI and HDMI. Compatibility is achieved with dual-mode DisplayPort ports, which are marked with the ++DP logo, using attached passive adapters; active adapters allow signal conversion to dual-link DVI and analog VGA.

DisplayPort has an advantage over HDMI in that it is royalty-free, while the HDMI royalty is per device and has an annual fee of $10,000 for high-volume manufacturers. DisplayPort version 1.2 added the ability to transport multiple audio/video streams, doubled the maximum data rate from 10.8 Gbit/s to 21.6 Gbit/s, increased the "AUX" channel bandwidth from 1 Mbit/s to 720 Mbit/s, added support for multiple color spaces including xvYCC, scRGB and Adobe RGB 1998, added global time-code for audio synchronisation and the ability to transfer Ethernet, USB 2.0, DPMS, and other types of data over the "AUX" channel. HDMI has a few advantages over DisplayPort, such as support for Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) signals, and electrical compatibility with DVI (though practically limited to single-link DVI rates).

See also

Deep Color

Digital-to-analog converter (DAC)

Digital Visual Interface

DiiVA

DisplayPort

DV

FireWire

Full HD

HD ready

HDBaseT

HDTV

List of display interfaces

MHL for mobile devices

PDMI

Toslink

Wireless HD

Wireless Home Digital Interface

xvYCC

Optical interconnect

Parallel optical interface

Interconnect bottleneck

Optical fiber cable

Optical communication

References

External links

HDMI Licensing, LLC.

HDMI Tutorial

HDMI switching

Dolby Podcast Episode 60 - March 26, 2009 - Part one of a two-part discussion with Steve Venuti, President, and Jeff Park, Technology Evangelist, of HDMI Licensing.

Dolby Podcast Episode 62 - April 23, 2009 - Part two of a two-part discussion with Steve Venuti, President, and Jeff Park, Technology Evangelist, of HDMI Licensing.

Tutorial: How to Connect PC to TV using HDMI

Designing CEC into your next HDMI Product

Hdmi Cat5 Technology Blog

Category:Digital display connectors Category:Television technology Category:Film and video technology Category:High-definition television Category:Television terminology Category:Video signal

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